just curious. - on the show he says he's playing doubles (I have not seen the show - I cannot get the feeds to work) yet as you can see he's got a wildcard for Salinas for singles - so that kind of contradicts the "only playing doubles theory"

ALL THE ANSWERS FROM MARIANO ZABALETA
The tennis player from tandil answered questions from readers of elgrafico.com.ar in the last edition of our magazine.

–¿What's the story behind the possibility of you being the coach of the argentine team along with Martin Jaite? (Ana Albornoz)
–Martín proposed the pairing, and the truth is I loved the idea. I would like to be the Davis Cup captain in the future. I'm young and I still want to play tennis. It would have been spectacular if they'd selected us; more for him, since he already was a few times: as a member, with Daniel García, as assistant or doubles captain. I think he had a very good idea. I would love to work with him, the experience would serve me well for being the captain in the future.

–¿Did you ever aspire to be number 1 in the ATP ranking? ¿Or to be in the Top Ten? (Guido Negri)
– It's difficult to aim to be number 1, but when you train every day, and you wake up every morning, you want to get as high as you can in the ranking. One of the goals that I didn't achieve in my career was to break into the top 10. Obviously it's not easy, because we're in a very competitive sport that's played all year, with players who play very well. But yes, every day, when I woke up, I thought about this.

–¿What surface to you prefer: hard, clay or grass? (Stefanía Enríquez)
–Clay, because the majority of argentines were born playing on this surface, out of tradition. Northamericans are born playing on hard; we're the same way on clay.

–¿Do you feel this was the chance to win our first Davis Cup? ¿What were the failures that prevented us from making it? (Guido Negri / Lucas Grosso / Yamil Fesia / Jorge Barrera)
–It was clearly a good opportunity which, unfortunately, was lost. But I believe Argentina will have another chance, in the future, because we have very good players.
We had the bad luck that del Potro was injured; he was a key player for Davis Cup. But then, it was lost by not having a good doubles team to win this important point and define the final.

–¿What is your opinion with regard to the relationship between the players and the argentine press? (Juan Carlos Lopresti /Sara Silveira Vallejo)
–This, I respect it; how each of us interacts with the press is personal. I believe that the press needs the players and the players, at times, also need the press. There were many doubts in the Davis Cup. It would be ideal if there were a good relationship, that there were press conferences so the reporters can find out how the players are feeling or how they are. And in turn, that the players aren't bothered because of doubts about the final, they're very focused and very nervous; and they need to stay calm for as much time as possible.

–¿Should Vilas have been the new captain of the Argentine Davis Cup team? (Daphne Johns)
–Vilas should have a chance, he's already the greatest argentine tennis player in history and one of the best in the world. I think he knows a whole lot about tenis, to contribute to the team. Yes, he must be given a chance.

–¿How was your personal experience in Davis Cup? (Guido Negri)
–I never had the chance to play well. I couldn't give my best tennis, or win matches. I only won one, but when I played Davis Cup I had a spectacular sensation: I was representing the nation. Even though it wasn't positive, to be part of the team was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

–¿What was the best match of your life? (Facundo Montoya / Sara Silveira Vallejo)
–The one I won against Petr Korda, when I was 19 or 20, at Roland Garros. He was number 2 in the world and I came through the qualleez, I beat him on one of the big courts.

–¿How would you categorize your current state of tennis? (Guido Negri)
– Well, now, after almost seven months of being out of tennis, because I was worn out. I turned 30 and a crisis grabbed me; I was tired of traveling and I had dedicated my entire life to travel and tennis. I don't regret anything, but I got tired. I stopped running and playing for a couple months; and now, I'm training again, hoping to return in 2009, for one more year.
–¿What do you think about Juan Martin del Potro? ¿Do you think he's aware of all that's expected of him? (Pablo Dao)
–He knows. I've known him well since he was a little boy, because he's from Tandil. Everything he's done up until now is huge. He's a calm guy, he's focused enough and he has the desire to keep growing and to go as far as he can.

–¿What are your professional plans for 2009? (Diego Benavídez / Carla Soster)
–Training well. I'm going to start by playing some challengers this month, and I'm gonna see how it goes y how I'm playing. But my idea is to dedicate myself for all of 2009; and at the end of the year evaluate how I finish and how I'm playing. If I'm going to continue or not.

–¿Do you have some unrealized dream? (Julián Corrado)
–Yes, to have kids.
–¿Your greatest sadness in tennis? (Guido Negri)
–It was when we lost the Davis Cup semifinal against Spain, over there. We were two equals, and Gastón Gaudio had been tapped to play the last point. We had both lost in singles, Lucas Arnold and Calleri won the doubles, he also won the singles when he replaced me on Sunday. When Gastón came in, we lost. This made me very sad, the match I had lost, we came so close.

–¿Why do you think there's such a big difference between Rafael Nadal and everyone else? ¿What does he have that nobody else has? (Guido Negri)
–He's touched with the magic wand. He's different, too much. Much physical difference from the rest, he's blessed. Combine this with the incredible tennis talent he has and the result is Rafael Nadal.
–¿Why, at the time, was there bad blood with Guillermo Coria? (Federico Aimetta)
–I never had a beef with him. They're wrong. I get along with him very well; we're not intimate friends, but we get along very well.
–¿Where did you come up with the idea for Tenis Pro? (Lucas Nahuel Lucero)
–They called me to do an interview show with the players. After a lot of back and forth, I accepted. I took notes on all the players and, when they told some story or anecdote, I always filmed it, because I really like to film. Then, we started to pass around these videos. We did the interviews in one or two months, because we only talked with the 8 best argentine tennis players. It was very good. Then the idea of showing these films came up, the people were excited. It's a very good show that the audience likes a lot.

–¿How and why did you get Gaudio involved? (Guido Negri)
–El Gato is my very good friend and this year he wasn't playing, and the idea with Chela was to continue with the program. We asked him if he wanted to get a little more involved, and I think the people like to see Gastón Gaudio, as a character and as a person. Then, he's huge in tennis and his involvement in the show is spectacular.

–¿Is it true that the biggest factor influencing which tournaments you choose to play is the quality of the women? (Nacho Pinto)
–Noooo, that's a lie.

–¿Do you see a renaissance of Argentine tennis? ¿What players do you see becoming members of this new generation? (Andrés Parravicini)
–It's Del Potro, at the top. David Nalbandian is still young, he has a couple more years to be among the best in the world, he's at that level. Then it would be Juan Mónaco, Acasuso, Schwank, coming a little further behind; that is, there are young players who would make good Davis Cup members. Then, there's the group of Gaudio, Cañas, Calleri and Chela; because now we're all 30 and we're only going to play a couple more years.

–¿Are there always confrontations among Argentine players when it's time to play definitive matches like at Davis Cup? (Julián Corrado)
–It's not the norm, there's friction just like in any environment. The fought or they fight… they're locker room conversations that should not have been released to the press. It happens all the time, like it happened with Gastón and Coria at the time, but these are fleeting situations.

–¿Did the bad relationship between del Potro and Nalbandian influence the outcome of Davis Cup? (María Rivemi)
–I don’t think it influenced anything. What does influence it, if I was a member or the captain of the Davis Cup team, one day, I would think that in the whole team, I’m not saying they should be intimate friends, but at least that they have a good relationship. With a certain happiness in the team you go a lot further.
–If you weren’t a tennis player, ¿what would you have done? (Julián Corrado)
–No idea. If I had to choose something to study now, it would be architecture, because I like construction.

–¿How do you feel about being the nephew of Teté Coustarot? (Julián Corrado)
–I’m thankful that life blessed me with having Teté for an aunt and not…, I’m not going to say a name, a “cat.” She’s the most upright person in the world, a first class aunt, the sister of my mom and I love her very much like the rest of my aunts. [who the fuck is Tete Coustarot???]

–¿What’s the funniest story you have about Tenis Pro? ¿And about tennis? (Guido Negri / Lucio Di Giuseppe)
–I think it was about the cobbler, people who watch the show say that was it. In Italy, we went into the only shoemaker in Biella, with Gustavo Marcaccio, so they’d fix a pair of shoes and the guy ran us out. Then, there are thousands of stories. Like how Maradona came to play tennis with us, I met and filmed a lot of people, because they saw it and were excited about it.

–At one of the Davis Cup matches, you were in the stands, very involved. ¿Did you feel that you should have had a place on the court? (Romina Fernández)
–No. I was involved because I saw it as a fan, as an argentine, as a tennis player, as an ex Davis cup player, where I’d played some ties. Obviously, I want Argentina to come out on top, because I believe that all of us who’ve played Davis Cup must feel part of this success. If we’d won, it would have been the work of many years, of many players, not just the four who played in the final.

–¿Do you think that one day you will regain the level you had in the past? (Lucas Grosso)
–It’s not easy, that was 8 or 9 years ago. Your mental and physical composition aren’t the same at 20 or 21, as they are at 30 or 31. Regaining at least a little of the level or the ranking would make me very happy as well.
–¿What was going through your mind at the best moment of your career, back in 1999 when you were 21 in the world? (Pablo Dao)
–I was always very calm and I tried to enjoy the moment, from day to day. I’m a person who enjoys life, the little things. I didn’t say, “Wow, I’m playing well”: I never was ambitious about ranking. I knew if I played well, I’d get better, and if I didn’t play well I wouldn’t be able to get better. I got to where I got in the rankings with all the dedication and effort I had.

–¿Did the aggression that you and your dad suffered at the Davis Cup tie against Chile, as visitors, in some way affect the later development of your career? (Carlos Crespo)
–I don’t think so. Yes, of course it affected me because up until then, everything was going fine and what happened was something very unusual. But I don’t think it scarred me.
–¿Who are your [role models?] in the world of tennis? (Julián Corrado)
–I don’t know if I have role models, to be honest. I really like Gustavo Kuerten’s manner, as a person and as a tennis player, I don’t try to copy him. But I really liked how he was.
–¿What message would you give to young people just starting out who want to become great tennis players? (Julián Corrado)
–That they know that it’s a demanding sport; but if they really like it and they love to play tennis, that they give training their all.

–¿What is Argentina missing to have a number 1? (Marco Quintana)
–We were close. With David Nalbandian, I think we were close. I still back him because he’s young, he can. I think the hope is in Del Potro, as I always said, for his level the mind he has he can aim to be number 1 in the world if he wants. He’s the best player in Argentina.
–¿Why do you think tennis has become more popular? (Bruno Perrone)
–Because a lot of players came out… our gang, Coria and Nalbandian. The past six or seven years of argentine tennis were incredible. The tournaments they won, all the years of having 2 or 3 guys in the top 10. It’s uncommon for a country to have so many players. Before, the people liked Vilas or Clerc and, if they didn’t like Vilas, they didn’t watch tennis. Now they have eight guys to choose from, this gets the people a lot more turned on.

–¿In your opinion, in what position would tennis be, in relation to other sports? (Bruno Perrone)
–In third place, behind fútbol and auto racing.

–¿Would you change anything about the tennis rules? (Sara Silveira Vallejo)
–That you don’t play so many tournaments in the calendar. That the players had more rest, like in the NBA, baseball and American football: they play seven months and they rest the rest of the time. Tennis players should have three months of rest, not a month and a half, or twenty days.

–¿How are tennis women? (Cristian Orellana)
–I never much liked tennis women. Maybe those who are feminine, but they are very few. I like them to be very feminine.